Dead Space: Wrath
by Kikatzu
Summary: I've gotta get out of the Sprawl, but I can't leave yet. I need to delete the files that EarthGov has on me and find Isaac before I can get off the Sprawl. ...And, I think she's back. (Sequel to Dead Space: Survival, has two OCs and first person point of view.)
1. The Doctor

Hello, and welcome to my sequel! Please make sure you read Dead Space: Survival first due to spoilers! So if you don't want the story spoiled, go read now, shoo! This is also a first person point of view fic and will have two OCs.

Lastly, this prologue will primarily be the messages that Mercer had sent to Vi after the first fic. You could skip this chapter, but it isn't recommended as it explains the nature of Vi's specific infection and other things to that nature.

**To my super patient readers: **All right, so it's been nearly two flipping years since I finished the last fic. This is something I completely apologize for, but so many things got in the way, to the point that I had my first year of college then I had surgery, then more college, and more recently Hurricane Sandy and Snowstorm Athena wailing on my state. However, this fic has been to the forefront of my mind the past two years. I started once, didn't like how it was. Scrapped that. Second time got corrupted, but I guess third time's the charm?

**Disclaimer:** Most characters and some dialogue are owned by Visceral Games. Vivien, Zillia, and everything else are mine.

* * *

File Name: Mercer's Memento 3 of 5

File Type: Digital Journal

Date Sent: April 11th, 2508

Date Unlocked: May 11th, 2508

It has been a month now from the Ishmura's outbreak, how have you been doing, Vivien? Are you doing fine on your own now? Where are you? Earth, the Sprawl, somewhere else? It saddens me to say that I'll never know the answers to these questions; perhaps I'll see the answers for myself when I pass on. It has been quite some time since you could read one of my messages; hopefully you have not forgotten about them quite yet.

To get to the point, this message is more of an explanation as to how Zillia operates, perhaps to even allow you more flexibility if she comes back again. (Despite the odds of finding another Marker, or a signal akin to it, are quite slim.) As I had mentioned in the second message, I want you to have more control over your own choices, despite my desire of you fulfilling my plans.

Coming from the scientist that specializes on the brain and the one to infect you with the Necromorph tissue, this log will be lengthy with an in-depth explanation of the effects Zillia has on you. If you have no interest in such information, despite how much I do recommend it, then just wait until the next message.

Now, in every person there are, essentially, two people in every human. One entity, providing man's logical and inquisitive thoughts resides in the left hemisphere of the brain. Meanwhile, the other presence, the creative and artistic one, resides in the right. As a result of how mankind has been brought up in the past few centuries, the left side has become stronger than the right side, the reason why? The years that we spend in school has caused this. In other words, Vivien, school saved you.

One question you may have would be that the infection was injected into your left eye, so wouldn't Zillia reside in the left hemisphere? This is not true, despite the entry point being your left eye; the nerves that carry the images that you see are connected to the right side of your brain. As a result, Zillia is indeed in the right side of your brain, the artistic side.

This fact is further proved by your behavior when the Regenerator had interrupted your sleep. Despite being under stress, from both Brant's new form and the bodily stress of the infection, you still had a hard time of being improper with the broken glass that littered the floor.

Another piece of information you may be putting together is the fact that Zillia, as a Necromorph infection, inhabits your artistic side. What good, or bad, could come from an artistic Necromorph, I have no clue… nor do I believe that such a Necromorph would survive for long. Or, that's what I would say if I hadn't seen Zillia kill all of those survivors firsthand… she seemed quite entertained painting the main corridor.

As knowledgeable as I am with the human brain, I cannot vouch that Zillia's will stay in a stable pattern. From what I can gather, Zillia takes over as a survival instinct to live. This is quite peculiar for typical Necromorph behavior as all, if not most, Necromorphs seek to kill. Then why is she helping her host to survive? How unfortunate it is that I'll never witness the true intentions that this virus has planned for you.

I apologize once more for this lengthy explanation, Vivien. However, as I will no longer be around anymore I must give you as much information as I can possibly give you, hopefully answering all the questions that you may have had through the course of the Ishimura disaster.

* * *

Until next time, dear Vivien.

File Name: Mercer's Memento 4 of 5

File Type: Digital Journal

Date Sent: April 11th, 2508

Date Unlocked: June 11th, 2508

Two months have passed now, dear Vivien. By now, you must be settling into your new life; or, at least have a new place to call home. Hopefully most of your struggles are behind you now.

Another subject you must be curious about, Vivien, must be the events that had occurred between falling asleep in the stasis chamber and when Brant had awakened you. How the Necromorph infection came to infect you and Brant.

As time ticked on, the number of Necromorphs scurrying in the vents became more frequent. Meanwhile, the screams of our other crew members had begun to fade until they ceased to cry out for help. The remaining crew was trapped, no thanks to the lead scientist, Doctor Terrence Kyne. Who was kind enough to eject all of the escape pods aboard the Ishimura.

Time was running out and I had to make a choice… Were I to leave you and Brant behind, stuck in slumber until you two became like them? Or, stay to meet the same fate?

No, I decided to do something a bit more daring; I wanted to see how these Necromorphs worked. As a result of Necromorphs taking the dead and molding them into a new form, perhaps a scientist specializing with the brain could somehow see how they ticked, maybe even discover their secrets. That was when I began to venture out of the room, slowly but surely, I began to see Necromorphs and Humans dismembered, dead. Some of the trips I was daring enough to start bringing specimens back to safety for study.

Then the most peculiar thing happened to me; I was able to hear someone, someone alive, another person that was surviving!

To my dismay, there was no one to be found. Despite the failed search, the whispers had continued, some of it made sense, and others did not. That is, until I was able to comprehend what the voice was saying; that I had the power to save one other person, but it couldn't be me. Despite me as the exception, the voice continued on claiming that I would have to pay a further price.

The voice had told me of a flaw that the Necromorphs had; that if one were to make an infection that could spread slowly within the host, then the Necromorphs would not see them as a threat at a closer glance. One may even compare this to a poisonous snake waiting for their venom to kill their meal.

Now, why couldn't I take this newly found discovery upon myself for my safety? Unfortunately, I had to be the one to do it. From the entry wounds that a vast number of the dismembered Necromorphs had… the cure needed to be inserted into the brain. As the specialist on the human brain, it was my duty to take this task upon myself.

As time went on and the voice instructed me on what to do with the samples I had found, the voice finally gave me a name to go by.

The voice wished to be referred to as the Hive Mind.

As time passed, I soon realized how advanced the Necromorph species truly were. They were not simple killing machines, they were fulfilling God's plan to replace us with a more extraordinary species than our own. The Hive Mind helped me realize that this, the so called tragedy aboard the Ishimura, was in fact our Convergence; our life after death. I became fascinated by them, watching them as time went on. To my delight, even when in view, the Necromorphs never outright attacked me. Especially now that I'm under the protection of the Hive Mind, leaving me the ability to travel through the ship as I pleased to find supplies or new specimens to work with.

While I continued to make progress on the slow moving infection, I had also decided to expand upon another virus for Brant. The Hive Mind mentioned that there would still be a risk of you being attacked from other rash Necromorphs, so I had hatched a plan to make Brant virtually invincible. Of course, I also had to redefine the virus for him as well, so that he would recognize both of us and not outright attack.

This idea was derived from the information that the Hive Mind had given me, that some Necromorphs aboard the Ishimura were sentient, the few "deformities" in God's work. These special Necromorphs were able to retain some memories of their former life; even fewer were able to retain speech. Aside from my intervention, the chances of finding such Necromorphs are quite slim. Had I more time in this life, I would see to it that I would get to experiment on one; just to see why the infection would not affect them as significantly while others are consumed completely.

Once the tissue sample was prepared, Brant had undergone the procedure of placing the tissue sample directly into his cranial cavity. Thankfully, he had lived through the operation, the big difference between a cadaver and Brant being infected. Bestowing upon him the regenerative properties he has now; much like how our skin heals after getting a cut.

Not too long after, the Regenerator came to be.

Brant had remained in the stasis chamber alongside yours for some time. Whenever he was awake, I'd see him looking over at your chamber. The distress he exhibited upon your removal for your operation was also quite surprising, to say the least. It took some time to calm him down, in the end he was put back to sleep with an astronomical amount of sedatives. Who would have thought that his admiration for you would carry on, and so strongly at that?

Shortly after, I had begun the procedure for your operation. That was when the Hive Mind whispered to me her name, Zillia.

* * *

File Name: Mercer's Memento 5 of 5

File Type: Digital Journal

Date Sent: April 11th, 2508

Date Unlocked: July 29th, 2508

Another month has gone by, has life become stable for you now? Have you become accustomed to your new life yet? It is to be expected that you would continue to have a hard time adjusting, change is never welcome.

Vivien, I applaud you for your patience, please understand that these timed messages were for the better of your interest. To have all of this information presented to you all at once would have taken a toll on you, and now that you're on your own, having this stress are the least of your worries. However, there are more details that I would love to explain to you. Unfortunately, I do not have enough time to tell you everything; the Hive Mind is beckoning me for the next life.

I did consider you quite close to me. To my dismay, you may have never thought much of me through the time that we have known each other aboard the Ishimura. Seeing as how you had lost your father, I had tried the best that I could to keep your best interests in mind. Doctor Kyne and Captain Mathius should have told you sooner… no, I should have told you sooner, Vivien. I apologize greatly for that, but at this point, nothing could be changed except the deliverance of more sorrow…

Now that I will not be around to talk to you anymore, I do want to say… Happy Birthday, Vivien, please enjoy the gift of choice.


	2. Since the Ishimura

All right, second chapter! Okay, so again no action this chapter, and the events from Dead Space 2 has not transpired yet (probably won't until another chapter or so...). So, again, if you don't like the background stuff, then wait until next time.

Again, I apologize for the long wait, but not as long as two years, right? Haha...ha... ha... Anyway, Hurricane Sandy proved to be a huge challenge with my college work. However, I did have this chapter on the bench when I published the first chapter and had the "New Year" or, rather, story resolve to put out a chapter every two to three weeks. Unfortunately, before I could get back to it, my cat that I've had for 16 years had been taken away from me in one of the cruelest manners possible. Normally when I'm upset, I do turn to this story to vent, but the event that I went through was so... explicit, to put it bluntly, that I could not bring myself to work on this story or even bring myself to look at Dead Space at all as Slashers would remind me of it all. And, it took longer than usual to get over this between school and the lack of support.

I apologize for rambling, this still bothers me greatly. As a result, I really can't promise you guys another chapter that soon, but I promise I won't disappoint you guys with the quality of my chapters. (And, if I don't post the third chapter in time, then I hope all of you guys enjoy Dead Space 3 in February!)

**Disclaimer:** Most characters and some dialogue are owned by Visceral Games. Vivien, Zillia, and everything else are mine.

* * *

Today was one of the busiest days I've had in a long time. This is saying a lot as the busiest times of the year are the Unitologist holidays and the anniversaries of the red Marker's discovery; the day when my world went to hell.

Whenever I think about that day a shiver just crawls up my spine, filled with the memories and fear. I still can't believe it's been more than three years now, it feels as if it happened just yesterday. A nightmare from so long ago, haunting me to this very day... I'll never forget about the creature, the monster that stole its way into my head. I know from what Mercer had written to me long ago, claiming that it was a vaccine, claiming that it would save me. Mercer did save me, but I couldn't help but feel some other underlying motives watching the damned video log he had sent me. A log showing all of the events that had transpired, that he had noted in his little mementos... I watched him lose his sanity to zealotry, I watched Brant transform into a monster, and I even had to watch myself be injected with the virus, with Zillia, and watch the rest of the nightmare unfold within the Medical Wing.

I know what Mercer did was sincerely trying to help me, how could he not with all the information he had passed down to me during his last hour? He could have done something more with the last few moments he had before he became one of them. I am in debt to him for his honesty; where as everyone else fell short.

As a result of the truth being revealed, I set the shuttle's course of action to Titan's space station, the Sprawl. However, on the way to our destination, Isaac and I were picked up by a pleasure cruiser. Sadly, the ride was a bit on the hectic side... Especially while Isaac suffered from hallucinations. Despite us being able to make it to safety, Isaac was having a hard time. I was even having a difficult time, my mind playing tricks on me with its voice resounding in my head. At one point, I even thought I saw her- it, I mean it. I thought I saw it taking over my body and twisting it into a new grotesque form, the same shape and size every time. The first time I was about to see it pounce on Isaac, I shouted but it disappeared; everyone thought I was nuts, but Isaac would take the light away with episodes of his own.

Unfortunately, Isaac and I were soon split up, EarthGov taking custody of Isaac, lethargic as he was from another dementia episode. Meanwhile, I was brought down a different hall; detained in a medical examination room to check on my own mental health.

Before EarthGov could so much as escort me out of the room, the church of Unitology had stepped in, talking to EarthGov outside the room declaring their right to intervene; after all, I was traded away to be the church's property. To my surprise, I saw my father walk into the room, beckoning me to leave with him and the other Unitologists adorned with red, black, and white security suits. I still can't believe that I went with him, the man that would actually trade his own child away for a mere title. Should I have stayed with EarthGov, so that Isaac wouldn't be all alone?

...Or, that's what I would think if it weren't for the fact that I found out that EarthGov placed Isaac in and out of stasis confinement since then. Upon hearing of this information, I've been tracking down Isaac's location ever since. He's located in one of the hospitals near the government sector, but that's as much as I know. I don't even know which hospital it even is, or what EarthGov's planning to do away with him. Meanwhile, I've been living my own life while he's cooped up under their watch, who knows what they're doing with him.

However, this doesn't mean that I've been sitting around idly while this is going on with Isaac. Although, it's been three years since Isaac and I were separated, I finally gained the trust needed within the church of Unitology to have enough connections, even a plan, to break the poor engineer out. Despite the fact that it did took a few white lies to achieve the trust from the select members that I'd chosen for the job, they trust me completely, just like they do for my father. Unfortunately, this plan is still on the bench as we are lacking good opportunity to implement the plan, but we'll get Isaac soon.

In regards to Unitology, I'm still not quite interested in the religion as I make it seem. As the Enigma's daughter, I must uphold a certain image for the sake of the public. In return, my father has given me my own apartment in the Cassini Tower complex; even in the more established end of it, too. He even paid fully to have my biomedical treatment implemented for the sake of my flashbacks and episodes to the Ishimura incident. After all, having an Enigma's daughter acting out in such a way would not be a good view for the public to witness in the least, a plus for me. A further guise was also me going back to med school to become more established as a good, smart, and helpful student. Aside from attending every group, council, and community meetings possible, I'm not seen nor met by any members of the church outside of those meetings.

Well, okay, that was a bit harsh; I have been seen with six people in total. I have been seen with my father, further discussing med school and my paid internship at the Unitology Titan Elementary School. Despite the bitter malice I feel for my dad for leaving me on the Ishimura, taking advantage of his hospitality would better benefit me than leaving and having to deal with EarthGov, perhaps even be hidden from the public. It's because of the separation of the church and state that I'm free and Isaac isn't, after all. I've even sworn to EarthGov that I would declare the Ishimura incident a terrorist attack instead of a Necromorph outbreak; especially whenever others would inquire about my blind eye and the scarred skin.

Regardless, the other person and his parents are the three people that I see outside of church, aside from the two people in my small group of followers to break Isaac out of his stasis-like prison. The other person would be Benjamin Wilbourn, a sweet, shy, nine-year old that I take care of for his asinine, Marker-head parents. He's even over at my apartment now, sleeping in my bedroom while I take the couch in the living room.

The poor kid's normally ignored by his parents, them being far too enveloped by the religion like many others and ignores their only son more often than not. If even presented the opportunity, I would not doubt that his parents would desert him for a higher title in the religion, how sad. As a result, I have him sleepover and take him to the church's elementary school before heading to my internship that's held a few hallways away.

If getting pushed off to the side by your parents wasn't enough, he's also been picked on by his fellow peers... It's horrible to see Benjy suffer from bullying, but the adorable, little guy has been thanking me for being his first friend since I practically adopted him.

A few months back when the internship had started, I would frequently see Benjy come in with bruises and scrapes every other day. The nurse that I worked with informed me that Benjy was a regular and his timid nature; I respected his quietness, as I was myself. As for being a regular, I figured it was a boy thing between roughhousing with the other kids during play time and just being a playful kid. This behavior continued on for some time, with Benjy needing to be fixed up time and time again. To be frank, it disappoints me still that it took this long for me to investigate what was happening to him.

One day, I decided to look up his schedule and left the office to go monitor the third grader's recess time. I didn't even walk into the room yet when I saw Benjy and three other boys picking on him, two of them holding onto each of his arms while the third tore up one of Benjy's drawing in front of his face.

After the first rip, I came up and went to grab the three bullies to bring to the principal's office, but they had darted off. Benjy fell to his knees, crying as he picked up the torn drawing. I knelt beside him, doing my best to soothe Benjy and tell him that everything will be okay. Even telling the kid that, as a nurse, I can fix any wound, even to a drawing. After staying by his side for a bit longer, he eventually agreed to go to the nurse's office and remained there until the school day ended. The other nurse disapproved of my involvement, but I ignored her claims and had Benjy sit next to me at the desk as we worked together to fix his drawing, roleplaying as the surgeon and Benjy playing as the nurse passing along strips of tape.

By the end of the day, the bullying was brought to the attention of the administration and the amount of abuse to Benjy dwindled down thereafter, but definitely not the number of visits he makes to the nurse's office. The kid visits during lunch every day to eat with me, sometimes even faking a stomach ache here and there to see me more often during the day. Then after school, we separate at his apartment while I get ready for the Unitology service during most days. Afterwards, his parents would decide upon whether they'd want me to take care of him for the night or if they wanted to remind me that Benjy was their child and not mine.

As much as I dislike Benjy's parents, I still can't help but feel that they can't declare themselves to have that role while they care for a religion more than their child. Despite all this, Benjy had even stated once before that he wanted me to be his mother, that I'm there for him more. To be honest, I love the kid to pieces back, but... I'm not sure how I would feel if Benjy somehow found out about the Ishimura; sometimes it even incident scares me to death.

I mean, what would happen if he found out about Zillia and how I killed a group of survivors? Would he think of me as a monster? Would he still love me like he does now? More importantly, would the subject ever haunt me again in my new life?

Regardless, I ought to stop thinking so much right now, there's work to do tomorrow and I need to get some sleep. After all, this is my new life now, I just have to get used to it.

I fumble around in the dark until my hands are greeted with a pill bottle and my glowing alarm clock. I place the alarm clock on the covers, swallowing an extra dose of the sleeping aid. It's a quarter past two in the morning, and I've gotta be up at seven. I place everything back on the floor and go back under the covers, waiting for the sleeping pills to take over and bless me with slumber.

On the Ishimura, I was known as Vivien Ding, but here under my father's domain, I'm known to others as Fay "Faith" Zelaya; what a dumb nickname...

* * *

I'm in a dark, cold place, breathing heavily as I try to catch my breath, stumbling around and trying my best to move forward. My RIG is red, I'm on the verge of collapse, and I'm trying my best to get away from... something... something that caused my RIG to become red in the first place.

"Hello Vivien," a cold, familiar voice calls out to me in the darkness. I freeze in my tracks, fear instilling my body before I could take another step forward. And that's when I finally noticed it, what I was walking towards. A light flickered on by the exit further on from my part of the corridor, but it wasn't enough to give light to who was in the corridor with me.

_Crunch!_

The far too familiar sound of the snapping of bones, then dead silence before I finally realized a set of red, glowing eyes were set low on the ground, focusing on whatever was in front of it. An alarm began to set off in the distance, startling me. As a result, the being's head snapped up in my direction, growling low for only a moment.

"You can't keep running from me forever, Vivi," the entity told me, causing me to take a step back as the being's head began to rise. The lights flash for only a moment, but enough to reveal the figure in question...

It was a Necromorph, a familiar looking one at that. The Necromorph had only bloodied, boney blades on both arms, akin to how the infection had shaped Brant. The skin the Necromorph had very few imperfections aside from a number of burns, cuts, and the blood that painted upon both arms, of my arms. The Necromorph before me was in the process of getting up from the floor, their bloodied maw was twisted into a crooked smile with tendrils, akin to Brant's, snaking out in the gaps between my sharp fangs.

I hardly had enough time to look at the corpse torn apart before the grotesque monster. All that I could see was the figure was adorned with a bloodied and tattered blue-grey suit, one of the newer and most expensive suits on the market for Engineers at the current time. It was a man, but I couldn't take a glimpse at the man's face. All I could think of was run, run away from this entity.

Then I woke up.


End file.
